Northgate Border Crossing Explained

Northgate Border Crossing
Country:United States
Canada
Location:
Coordinates:49°N -102.2752°W
Opened:1907
Blankdetailstitle1:US Phone
Blankdetails1:(701) 596-3805
Blankdetailstitle2:Can Phone
Blankdetails2:(306) 483-5111
Blankdetailstitle3:Hours
Blankdetails3:8:00AM – 4:00PM (summer)
9:00AM – 5:00PM (winter)
Website:US Canadian

The Northgate Border Crossing connects the cities of Bowbells, North Dakota and Alameda, Saskatchewan on the Canada–US border. North Dakota Highway 8 on the American side joins Saskatchewan Highway 9 on the Canadian side.

Canadian side

The customs office opened in 1907 at Boscurvis about 25km (16miles) north of the border. The office operated under the administrative oversight of the Port of North Portal. A replacement facility, called Boundary Line, was constructed at the border in 1913. That year, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway had built southward to connect with the Great Northern Railway building northward. In 1916/17, the office name changed to Northgate.[1] During Prohibition in Saskatchewan, the smuggling of liquor northward through Northgate could turn violent.[2]

The customs building was replaced in 1964.[3] The former building[4] was razed in 2014/15.

In 2020, the hours changed from being 8am to 9pm (summer) and 9am to 10pm (winter) to 8am to 4pm (summer)[5] and mirroring the US winter hours.

US side

The early border patrol history is unclear, but assumedly the US mirrored the establishment of a permanent post at least by the 1910s.

The US upgraded its border station on Highway 8 in 2004.

Highway realignment and rail upgrade

In 1962, the building of Highway 8 realigned the road to 0.5miles west of the previous crossing. After being idle for years, the Canadian National Railway upgraded its tracks at this crossing to support rail traffic from the Bakken oil field.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Legg, Herbert . 190 . Customs Services in Western Canada, 1867–1925 . The Creston Review Ltd . 1962.
  2. Web site: Daily News . 4 . 15 Mar 1921 . www.library.ubc.ca.
  3. Web site: Land Border Crossing Project: 47419-187064/A . 76 (74) . buyandsell.gc.ca.
  4. Web site: Northgate, ND . www.ghostsofnorthdakota.com.
  5. Web site: SaskToday . 15 Apr 2020 . www.sasktoday.ca.
  6. Web site: North Dakota Department of Transportation. Government of Saskatchewan. Northgate Railroad Crossing. Meeting Archives. US - Canada Transportation Border Working Group. 11 December 2015.